NEW YORK — The one-size-fits-all mannequin is getting a much-needed makeover.

Wings Beachwear’s mannequins in Miami sport flower tattoos much like some of the women who shop
there. At David’s Bridal, mannequins soon will get thicker waists, saggier breasts and back fat to
mimic a more realistic shape.

“This will give (a shopper) a better idea of what the dress will look like on her,” says Michele
Von Plato, a vice president at the nation’s largest bridal chain.

Stores are using more realistic versions of the usually tall, svelte, faceless mannequins in
windows and aisles. It’s part of retailers’ efforts to make them look more like the women who wear
their clothes. That also means experimenting with makeup, wigs and even poses.

This comes after two decades of stores cutting back on mannequins to save money. Many have been
using basic white, headless, no-arms-or-legs torsos that cost about $300 compared with the more
realistic-looking ones that can fetch up to $1,500.

Now, as shoppers are increasingly buying online, stores are seeing mannequins as a tool to
entice shoppers to buy.

Indeed, studies show mannequins matter when shoppers make buying decisions.

“Mannequins are the quintessential silent salespeople,” says Eric Feigenbaum, chairman of the
visual merchandising department at LIM College, a fashion college in New York.

Until the early 1900s, the most common ones were just torsos. Full-length mannequins became
popular with the rise of mass-production clothing.

The first ones were made of wax and melted in the heat. They had details such as human hair,
nipples and porcelain teeth. By the 1960s, stores were investing in hair and makeup teams
specifically devoted to taking care of the mannequins. The 1960s also started the trend of
mannequins being made in the image of celebrities.

Adel Rootstein, founder of mannequin maker Rootstein, created a mannequin based on elfin model
Twiggy in 1966.

The next decade or so ushered in an era of hyperrealism, with mannequins showing belly buttons
and even spinal indentations, says ChadMichael Morrisette, an expert in mannequin history. But by
the late 1980s, the trend moved away from realistic mannequins and toward torsos or mannequins
without faces. Now, retailers are doing another about-face.

Saks Fifth Avenue, for instance, spent about a decade using mostly mannequins that were headless
or faceless. But in the past two years, the luxury retailer has been showcasing more mannequins
with hair, makeup and chiseled features.

Ralph Pucci International, a big mannequin maker that creates figures for Macy’s, Nordstrom and
other stores, plans to offer versions with fuller hips and wider waists next year.

David’s Bridal is also going for a more realistic look. In 2007, the company scanned thousands
of women’s bodies to figure out what the average woman looks like and applied those measurements to
its first mannequins.

Plus-size mannequins will show the imperfections of getting heavier, with bulges in certain
places such as the belly and back.

American Apparel also is going more realistic. The teen-apparel retailer known for its racy ads
this month has mannequins in its store in the trendy SoHo shopping district of New York wearing
see-through lingerie.

Ryan Holiday, an American Apparel spokesman, noted that the number of customers in the store has
increased 30 percent since the debut of the new mannequins.